Buying on a Busy Street

Recently, I heard a fellow agent tell the story of a couple who’d recently purchased their first home together. They hadn’t been looking long when they stumbled across a house on Craig’s List that instantly called to them. They viewed it with the agent, and after spending two hours investigating the home inside and out, decided to make an offer. The house was unique in many wonderful ways, and had been lived in by the same family for more than 20 years; still, it had been on the market for more than nine months by the time the couple decided to make an offer. Why, you ask? Despite all the comfort and coziness of the house, it was situated at the intersection of two busy streets.

Making sure the couple—who had only been looking for two weeks—wouldn’t suffer from acute buyer’s remorse, the agent pointed out this location tic. She reminded them that, when the time came for them to sell, they would most likely be dealing with the same lag time. The couple, staunch that this was their house, reassured the agent the time to sell wouldn’t come for many, many years.

They purchased the home.

Things didn’t work out between them.

The house was relisted on the MLS less than six months later.

While only fate and circumstance can tell what will happen with the home this go-round, chances are good the couple are facing a real challenge in re-selling the home due, in large part, to being situated on a busy suburban thoroughfare.

Opinions go both ways on this topic. For some buyers, a home on a busy street can be seen as positive: potential for lower selling price, fast snow removal in the winter, and good access to shopping, entertainment, and transportation options. But the cons often outweigh the pros—noise, danger, being in the middle of everything—and only the buyer can determine how to weight each factor.

A good rule of thumb is to buy a home with as few built-in concerns as possible, and include general objections, not just your own. Because what’s easy for you to overlook may be a deal breaker for the majority of buyers.

So consider that busy street—or in-ground swimming pool, or panel of less-than-attractive backyard solar panels—very carefully, or you might be stuck with them for much longer than you’d like.

Angela Anderson, Realtor, Results Support Services: EMAIL — BIO

Licensed Associate Working with Sharlene Hensrud of RE/MAX Results, and HomesMSP — Sharlene, John, Angela

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